TAIPEI (Reuters) - Two Taiwan legislators danced in giant panda costumes in parliament on Wednesday to mock the much-ballyhooed arrival of two goodwill gift pandas from China which they see as an unwelcome interference from the mainland.
China handed over Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, whose names said together mean "unite," on Tuesday as relations between the two sides improve.
China claims Taiwan as part of "one China," a notion many in Taiwan resist, especially the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that favours the island's formal declaration of independence from China.
Panda lovers, particularly children and local media, should know the gift comes with political bite, the DPP law-makers told reporters and colleagues with dances and paw gestures at a caucus office.
China has claimed Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. It has vowed to bring the island under its rule, by force if necessary.
"It's not just a cute animal," said Chen Lin-sung, an aide to Kuan Bi-ling, one of the dancing MPs. "When you see the pandas, know that they are an important symbol of China's diplomacy."
Beijing first offered the pandas to Taiwan as a goodwill gift in 2006, but Taiwan's then anti-China president refused them.
Welcomed by new, China-friendly Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, the pandas have now settled into their new home at Taipei zoo after a day-long trip marked by song and dance, decorations and speeches.
Last week, Taiwan and China launched direct daily passenger flights, new shipping routes and postal links for the first time in six decades. China has also offered Taiwan investors on the mainland $19 billion (12.86 billion pounds) in financing over the next three years amid the global economic downturn.
(Reporting by Ralph Jennings; Editing by Nick Macfie)
